Daily Hampshire Gazette - Guest columnist Mariel E. Addis: No fan of e-bikes

Mariel E. Addis CONTRIBUTED

Two cyclists trek uphill, passing trees changing to autumn colors, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Woodstock, Vt. AP FILE PHOTO/CHARLES KRUPA

By MARIEL E. ADDIS

From the time I was little, I have loved bikes. This, even considering what a horrendous sense of balance I had as a kid, and in some ways still do. Going from training wheels to just two wheels did not come easy for me, but once I got it down, I was good to go.

I like bikes for the sake of bikes, not that I ride like a crazy woman every day or have abandoned my car for a bike. But last year, when a Baker’s cyst behind my right knee made biking so painful I had to give it up riding, it was a very sad day for me.

Biking is obviously exercise, which is great for me, but, more than that, it is a form of therapy for me, clearing my mind and improving my mood. Not being able to ride for over a year nearly killed me, emotionally that is. I am pleased to note that I am “back in the saddle again” regularly riding one of my numerous trusty two-wheeled steeds.

One of the biggest things in biking now is the electric bike, or e-bike. Some of these offer the benefit of exercise with some battery-powered assistance enabling riders to go longer distances if they choose. Others are more like powerful electric mopeds, relying solely on the power of a battery.

I know these battery-assisted bikes are the perfect solution for many folks, people who commute longer distances or have had injuries that make riding a standard bike difficult or painful. I have a friend who has an old back injury that sometimes makes it difficult for her to ride her old specialized hybrid bike. My friend mostly uses her bike for running errands in lieu of a car. She is in the process of replacing the old hybrid, which is in need of some work, with a new e-bike. I truly think it is just the ticket for her and she is very excited to get this new freedom-enhancing tool.

Despite empowering many folks, I hope to go to my grave never owning one. I guess I just am a crotchety old purist. I love the exclusive partnership between the rider and the machine (although the bike obviously doesn’t care), even naming my bikes like someone would a horse or a car.

Now, I am not out to pooh-pooh anyone who owns an e-bike — I have many friends who have them, but to me, again capable of propelling myself without much issue, it would feel like I’m cheating if I had one. That’s my own personal issue. Still, I do take issue with e-bikes for a variety of other reasons.

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E-Bikes are rated by class, with Class I or II bikes rated for up to 20 mph. I am not a racer, but have owned numerous road bikes; under the right conditions, and I am not a racer, I have been able to top 20 mph, sometimes hitting the mid-20s on flat stretches, and far more “flying” downhill, but most of the time I’m somewhere between 15 and 18 mph, plenty fast on a bike path with pedestrians and other riders around.

By comparison, higher classes of e-bikes can go 28 mph or more, endangering people on the bike paths that these bikes are banned from, but are still frequently used on.

The other thing that gets my goat is the number of young, healthy, people — people in their teens, 20s, and 30s — who are tooling around on e-bikes. I find it ironic that, at 59 years old, after having a knee replacement, I’m propelling myself on my bike while these seemingly healthy “kids” are getting electric assistance. I can imagine these folks at my age, overweight and out of shape, needing medical care for health problems that would normally affect someone far older, all because of lack of proper exercise, such as biking or walking.

I am also sad that these people are missing the feeling of accomplishment of biking up a steep hill on a pedal-only bike, and then experiencing the exhilarating roller-coaster-like ride down the other side. For me, I may be cursing to myself on the ride up, questioning why I chose this route, and grinning ear-to-ear on the downhill side as I break speeds I could never do pedaling alone.

My lone voice won’t change much when it comes to the current and probably permanent e-bike craze, still it is just good to know that there are some other crazy hardcore purists out there just like me, who are happy to propel themselves without a motor to help them.

Mariel Addis is a native of Florence. She left the area for 16 years but returned in 2013.